


Between Two Lungs

by Alma



Category: Borderlands (Video Games), Tales from the Borderlands - Fandom
Genre: F/M, First Kiss, Fluff and Smut, I'm a sucker for this pair, Sex, Tales From the Borderlands, and a shitload of talking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-16
Updated: 2018-03-16
Packaged: 2019-04-01 03:48:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13989837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alma/pseuds/Alma
Summary: Thinking back, she knew how he must have felt, realising there was no one on the ship to save him - except Loader Bot, and Fiona was very thankful that he managed to get him out. After that, they never saw each other again, but Fiona knew. She knew about the new CEO of Atlas, restoring their developments and projects. “But… I appreciate it, really. I’m… glad LB brought us together again.”





	Between Two Lungs

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Birthday, big sis. Betya thought I was joking when I said I'm gonna write a fanfic for you. Well, it isn't Rhack - like we joked - but Rhyiona instead! This will be awkward and I'll probably feel suuper nervous as long as you'll take to read this, but I hope it'll be worth it, ha! 
> 
> Anyway, hello every other person! I know it's a cheap excuse, but since my first language isn't english you'll probably find a shitload of mistakes. Do not hesitate to tell me, tho! I'll try to correct major and minor mistakes within the next days (If my best buddies (and you) find some)
> 
> That said, have fun! 
> 
> P.S.: Safety first, kiddos.

The last thing the former Hyperion Manager could remember was the room he previously been in. He still felt the coldness of the still air not being startled by the sudden visit of two strangers at a place nobody’s seen before. At least that was what they assumed once they were inside the Vault of the Traveler. Although none of the two knew about the origin of the Vault, somebody must have build it in the first place and if not, who had been so kindly to create stairs that’d lead them right up to the glowing treasure case? Whoever it’s been, neither one of them was eager to debate about that certain topic, especially not with their reward so close. And that’s how they disappeared.

Apart from the sudden nausea he experienced, Rhys managed to get a feeling for his surroundings. The air was heated and dry. He - of course - managed to get some dirt into his face, feeling it tickling right under his nose, which forced him to wrinkle it unattractively. Stopping mid-sneeze he groaned loudly due to his hellish headache he had to suffer, too. He wasn’t surprised, though. It wouldn’t have been his way to step into new adventures if he hadn’t had some complaints and bruises. The things he was feeling now were nothing compared to the times he was punched in the face, neck or stomach - so he guessed he’d get over it. Nonetheless his compliant didn’t stop the brunette from feeling quite irritated. The headache and nausea did their part for sure, but the fact that he couldn’t move was striking a nerve. A panicking nerve. After wiggling for some time he noticed the weight upon him. Slowly, he opened his lids and stared right into a pair of bright lime-green eyes, which suddenly widened even more the moment they caught each others sight. It took him off guard to get conscious to a view like that; especially after spitting insults to one another a few hours before. If Rhys was completely honest, he surely didn’t mind her presence like that at all - even though she was laying weirdly flat against his chest, almost completely stiff, until she hurriedly backed off, preferring the dirty ground over mostly clean Rhys. The owner of Atlas was able to sense some redness at the top of her cheeks, but couldn’t really tell if it was sheer anger crawling up her stuck up dressed throat or truly embarrassment, which he hadn’t seen on her ever. Obviously he couldn’t hide his own awkwardness and felt his ears heat up instantly - he didn’t even want to know how red his face must have looked in that exact moment. At least he found his hands freed from imprisonment and sat straight up, casually running his metallic hand through his tousled brunette hair. Awkwardly clearing his throat, he threw a glance over the spot he apparently landed on and noticed the width of the deserted wasteland

“Where are we?” he croaked, not expecting his voice being hoarse. Fiona just successfully collected her pride when she threw her eyes onto the ground as well, until she looked up again and tried to locate her position via one striking spaceship, usually right up above her head. It might have worked instantly, if she hadn’t remembered the pile of trash upon Pandora that once had been Helios. “Elpis?” she wondered and needlessly pointed upwards, a gesture Rhys’ eyes followed.

“Guess so.” the brunette extrovertive answered. Both felt every inch of their bodies while getting onto their feet. According to how their bones felt, they weren’t falling from a lethal height, but high enough for their ribs to hurt. “At least we’re still on Pandora. You think the Vault’s responsible for this?”

“Well, it certainly wasn’t me.” Rhys huffed jokingly. “Question is, why? I don’t see any of these ‘advanced technologies and treasures’.” To ground his point, Rhys shoved some dirt from one point to another which he was able to reach with his shoes. Nothing more than dirt and stones; nothing Rhys would call valuable.

“Maybe we did something wrong.” Like always - Rhys noticed - she squinted her eyes and crossed her arms in front of her chest. She was most definitely thinking about something. Either a plan to get away from here or to find what they were originally trying. Rhys mimicked her gesture and turned around as if he was expecting a path right behind him. Chastening, he noticed that there wasn’t; and for him, the search was over. He wouldn’t call himself the easily surrendering type of person, but they were in the middle of nothingness - not like he could just call for help. _Wait. He could._

Turning around once more to face his companion, he raised a hand to his ear and touched the little communicator within his shell. “Vaughn?” he eloquently asked. “Can you hear me?” Fiona observed him attentively, still keeping an eye on her surroundings as well. She had no clue how they got here, but everything led to the Vault they visited. They traveled all the way to a dead place on Pandora with nothing but bruises from a fall and each other. Not that she minded Rhys presence, on the contrary, she’d choose him as company over being alone anytime. It kinda made sense that the “Vault of the Traveler” forced them to travel to another place, but she couldn’t grasp the reason _why._

“Thank god” Fiona heard Rhys say. “We’re alright... We seriously don’t know where we are.” With that saying, Rhys opened his bionic palm and without a passing second a little map glowed a few inches into the air. “There is… nothing. I have a weird feeling about this.” The ex-con artist stepped closer to him and mindlessly grabbed his wrist to yank his cybernetic arm a little closer to her, examining what was visible right in front of her. The map didn’t really give away a lot. If she was completely honest, it wasn’t helpful at all. Apparently Hyperion didn’t bother to keep his database updated or just didn’t care enough to create a whole map of Pandora, not expecting their “hacking monkey” to go to a place like this. Hence skipping to create a flawless map altogether. “Sure, nice, thanks. You think you can get us outta here?” Rhys didn’t mind her grasping  at all, way to occupied with chatting. “Shit, alright. Guess we gotta _catch a ride_ our way back. Keep me updated.” With that he let his hand fall back to his side and the picture of the map vanished. “What’s he saying?” Fiona asked, propping her hands into her sides, giving her a demanding appearance. “He couldn’t spot us on the radar, but he’ll keep an eye out for us, we just have to move.” Sighing, they started to move into a direction they felt like could be the right one, even though every path seemed like the other.

____

It’d be an underestimation to say the both were bored to hell. At some point Fiona started to throw little rocks against the back of Rhys’ head, who at first didn’t react to take the fun for her out of it. After ten minutes, admittedly, he couldn’t bare any further second of it and turned around within a flash, causing a small pebble to hit his one human eye right in the center. At first Fiona started laughing out loud, watching Rhys’ groan and wipe his tears away with his left hand. It hurt like a bitch, but Fiona didn’t seem to care, only changing her mind when he kept wiping his eye. “Okay, wow, did I really hit you that hard?” she clicked with her tongue.

Rhys glared up at her with his bionic eye, which was flashing evilly at her. “No, I’m just pretending to be hurt, ‘cause that’s what people do.” Sighing again, she stepped closer and carefully put her hands against his face, pulling him a little closer to herself, inspecting his watery eye carefully. Hesitantly, he let his hands sink down, giving her a silent permission to help him, although her sympathy was left to rot since the day they’ve met. This was probably the most caring moment they shared in some time and Rhys couldn’t pretend he wasn’t liking it. Fiona came dangerously close to his face and parted his eyelids a little more, compelling him to wince again. “Hold still” she shushed and raised a finger to cautious shove a small fragment of pebble out of his eye. It indeed was super red and he was trembling like a rat hit by electricity. “There we go. Wasn’t that bad, was it?” After she was done, Rhys couldn’t help himself and started to rub his eye one more time, since the scratching feeling of some kind of shard wouldn’t let go of him. “First of all, this could have been avoided, if you hadn’t thrown friggin’ rocks at me.” Fiona’s green eyes were rolling back behind her eyelids and with crossed arms in front of her chest, she stepped past him, leading the way. “Why’s it always you takin’ the fun out of something?” she huffed, not daring to throw a glance at him, leaving him mouth agape. “What?!” came squeaking from behind her and the heavy steps of his fast walk were coming closer and closer. She didn’t expect it and was strongly shocked by the mere act of getting payback-ed _by him_. Before she could have reacted, she felt a feet of his between her legs, yanking one foot of hers back, causing the Vault Hunter in training to fall flat to the ground. Her chin hit the ground and dirt was instantly laying on her tongue. Coughing, she tried to collect herself first, then she looked up and saw that smug smile on her companion’s face. “How dare you?!” she murmured and stood up slowly. Feeling somewhat sorry for what he’d done, Rhys reached down to her and offered her a hand. Reluctantly, Fiona took the bid and grabbed his wrist once again for a better halt. “Don’t think I won’t take revenge on you. Once corporate scum, always corporate scum.” Instead of feeling the threat tightening Rhys’ throat, he smiled at her and realised way to late, how close he’d pulled her onto the feet and right in front of him. More rapidly than it was necessary, he let go of her hand and stepped back. “Why is it always you taking the fun out of something?” he mirrored her words and winked at her. Feeling fairly confused, Fiona brushed off the dirt of her clothes. Correction: She hated to be around him at a place like this, she’d rather have been alone than with him.

____

 “Excuse me, were you saying anything?” asked Rhys, looking right at her while she was walking close to his side. She stared at him, confused, with half closed eyes. “No.”

“I did!” resounded it through the little communicator placed inside Rhys’ ear. He twitched visible and rubbed his ear in the process. “What’s up?” Once again, Fiona couldn’t hear anything Vaughn was saying, probably because he always spoke pretty calm and restrained. Rhys’ had told her a lot about his long lasting friendship with the former Accountant. They were inseparable  from the start, yet Vaughn had always been the “nerdy” friend of them too. Which confused Fiona when she thought about it, since whenever she glanced at Rhys all she saw was the biggest nerd of them all. Not saying that it was something bad. At least he’d been good at whatever he was doing. After all he’d been a manager of the cruellest company in the whole universe and now he was the CEO of Atlas. There had to be something about him. Something Fiona didn’t dare to discover and the more she thought about him, the more she grew uncomfortable with her own mind and where it was taking her.

“He said” Rhys started without making sure if she was even listening to him. Even though, well, she was. “We should quit it for the night. Should find some shelter to keep us out of harm's way. Don’t really wanna greet some Bullymongs or whatever is running around freely.” Fiona couldn’t say anything against that idea, after all she wasn’t really prepared to fight some creatures as well. “Good news tho” he continued. “He found us on the radar. They’ll start driving, will take some time. If they manage to get through the night, they’ll catch us in the morning.” Relieve ran through the brunettes veins and instinctively she pushed her bangs behind her ears. “We just gotta find something to stay the night.” she sagaciously pointed out and looked around. Conveniently they found an old facility, withdrawing Rhys’ attention completely. He figured that it might be an older Dahl building, but not a part of their mining industry. After Hyperion forced Dahl to cede, the company was devoting themself fully to the weapon industry, arming hundreds of bandits and criminals. This facility was shut down long time ago. The gates were wide open and they couldn’t see anyone, not even some psychos. A lot of things were already missing, looted by lots of passing people. Something Fiona could understand completely. Especially people on Pandora had nothing except things they stole. She knew enough about stealing and how important it was to survive the rough life on a rotten planet like this one. The facility wasn’t as big as they first expected. The big machine for production was broken into pieces and the rest of the hall was empty and lost. The abandoned place felt eerie, forcing Fiona to shudder once or twice while exploring the place. But neither Rhys nor Fiona was able to find anything useful.

“This place is pretty dope.” Rhys decided, standing in the middle of the hall, looking up through the huge hole in the roof. “You think?” Fiona untouchingly asked, raising an eyebrow doubtful. “It’s just another shitty corporation that brought hatred and death.” Rhys rubbed his eyes again, meeting her glance. “I’m not talking about Dahl, I meant the location and the facility itself. I think, one day, Atlas could expand into new places. I know that a shitload of buildings exist - especially cuz we’ve been there, but the more we do for the safety of Pandora and their people, the more of those could work for me- I mean Atlas.” Coughing, the brunette turned his back to Fiona to lose the eye contact they were holding. Fiona always managed to make him feel uneasy whenever she looked at him, well, whenever she _wanted_ to make him feel uncomfortable. He then usually started to stutter and stumble over his own words and their meaning. Fiona enjoyed his awkwardness, not only because she felt more in control, but it also turned him _human._ She remembered very well when they first met. He was arrogant, slick and thought way to high about himself. But whenever he had to face her or Sasha, he became more quiet and unsure. Fiona didn’t think that he was scared, but more likely uncertain what he was allowed to do or say. When a person grows up with the impression to double-cross others to get forward in life, it’s no wonder he didn’t know how to behave in the _real world._ Fiona couldn’t pretend to know him that well, but she was certain that he made a huge step into the right direction. And without sounding conceited, Fiona would say the same about herself. It wasn’t easy to open up to strangers, especially not to some dudes from a corporation she hated the most - and yet here she was, smiling. “You want strangers to work for you?” she suddenly scoffed before he could have seen her positive facial expression, following his stare upwards. Something must have fallen through the roof at some point, or an explosion from the inside had been the cause. Whatever it’d been, it was ugly and not really useful. “Aren’t all workers strangers at some point?” he counter questioned. “Atlas could create homes” he carried one fantasizing while moving through the hall, gesturing in the process. “People who would want could work at the facility. Giving them a perspective. I’m almost certain there’d be less violence around here if people just had the chance to… build their living. Imagine having a purpose. Y’know, like… if Felix hadn’t taught you how to steal for a living, maybe you’d have stagnated till the end. It’s an idea, but how are things supposed to change if we don’t try?” Maybe Fiona was too pessimistic for Rhys’ cheerful ideas. In her eyes, this world wouldn’t change that fast. Population was angry and even though Jack died - twice - she did not expect the mindset to switch. They’d just think Rhys was another guy eager to gain power and authority. Even though Fiona knew he wouldn’t step into the footsteps of the biggest asshole there had been, all his talking was leaving a bitter taste. She didn’t want to burst his bubble, though, and stayed quiet for a little while, leaving him to his daydreams. “Fiona” he gained her attention once again, suddenly standing in front of her. “What are you thinking?”

She was quite certain that he didn’t really want to know, therefore she started to smile cheaply. But since they knew each other for an exceptionally long time she figured he wouldn’t fall for her trick. The Vault Hunter shove her coloured streak of hair to the side and out of her view. “I don’t think people will want to work for somebody that quickly again. Especially not if they are named after a corporation that’s been in Jack’s hands.” she confessed her worries. Rhys couldn’t say she was wrong and it indeed gave his little fantasy a few scratches. “Yeah, probably.” he sighed. “But we’ll see. Time will tell! I mean we’re doin’ a great job so far. Already created the first prototypes of shields and sorts. I was able to recover a lot of data from Hyperion and everything Atlas had to offer. It’s basically right in my hands. We could… we could create equipment for you and your Vault Hunter buddies! How amazing is that?!” It may have seemed childlike from him to react in such a way, daydreaming about progression he couldn’t just start without resources and yet Fiona appreciated it a lot. As far as she could remember, the Vault Hunters weren’t really welcomed in the end. “I thought you wanted to help the poor?”

“I do, but that doesn’t mean I won’t have a special development area for my fav murderous Huntress.” he hummed delighted, not expecting Fiona to advert her gaze and rub her neck in embarrassment. That’s what he assumed at least and it was weird sight to begin with. Already seen twice at one day. He rarely managed to flatter her, mostly because it usually turned out the wrong way or because he was way too clumsy to flirt, but he tried and she noticed. Although she never really gave it much thought, after all he’d been and was a big corporate douche who probably thought he could have any girl if he just winked long enough. She dismissed it as a character trait; being a total obnoxious bitch. That said, she felt absolutely ashamed of even reacting the way she just did. Heat rose up into her cheeks and it was most definitely not her style. “I - uh - am glad, guess we got a deal.”

“Guess we do.” Ungainly, he shoved his hand into his hair again, flattening the little strands peeking out of his gel-maltreated hairstyle. An unpleasant silence lingered around them and turned the positive attitude from before into a self conscious pressure. “Well.. I guess we should find a save place to stay.” he continued and looked up once more, this time not to stare at the roof but at a higher place _on_ the roof. The climbing was exhausting and it took Rhys more than one try to get up and he probably never would have managed it, if it weren’t for Fiona pulling his slim yet heavy body upwards. “Phew” he huffed and laid flat down against the metal roof, breathing harder than his actions would assume. “You’re a wimp.” was her eloquent comment. He might have taken this as an insult, but he knew that it was her way of communication and expressing affection - and it was kind a true, so...

“I know exactly why I’m the guy in the chair and you the one exploring Vaults.” After collecting himself and soothing his breathing, he crossed his arms behind his head and looked up into the sky. It was getting darker with every passing minute and the night was coming closer, just like eventual dangers. “Tho I gotta say so far I’m not sure if the trouble was worth it. I mean… did we do something wrong?” They went through all this and risked their lives for… nothing? Sure, they mostly did it for Loader Bot and Gortys, which was definitely worth it if you leave the Vault behind. But being close to the real thing; the thing everyone was talking about, just to get close and then… have absolutely nothing. Not like they wanted to rub it under everyone’s nose (they totally would), but where was the point in opening the Vaults in the first place? They almost lost a beloved family member. While Rhys prefered the safety of an office, Fiona was eager to learn more about the mysteries. The brunette CEO was interested in knowing, but if there was one thing he wanted more than knowledge, it was most definitely _Fiona_.

“What?” It was most definitely _safety_. Being the boss of a company he easily took, because the rights weren’t more than a piece of paper.

“What?” Fiona asked as well, pulling her eyebrows together in confusion. “Did you hear something?”

“Oh no, I didn’t. Sorry, I was - uh - thinking.” Clearing his throat, Rhys could feel his face heat up once again. He was CEO, Jack was defeated all over again, Hyperion was destroyed, Gortys freed. He had everything he wanted one year ago and yet he felt like there was something missing. Over the take of six months he thought Fiona had left him on Hyperion when he needed her the most. The feeling of betrayal followed him through the months and now all of it… vanished. He knew the truth and she did too. Just one impression never left, not when he thought of Fiona as a traitor; not when he realised that she wasn’t. It came back to the surface the moment they were a family again. They were a rather dysfunctional and weird family, but probably the best there was. “I’m sorry.” he suddenly sighed. The confusion never left her face, only grew stronger towards her hairline. Frowning so hard, the lines on her forehead almost doing her no favour - ah, what was he thinking? Even that couldn’t turn her unattractive.

“What are you sorry for?” she asked, since Rhys didn’t seem to understand frowning.

“Everything I guess.” he started. “I mean, everything I ruined. The whole thing with Jack, the fake deal, not… trusting you.” He couldn’t really tell why he was saying these things, but he suddenly felt the need for it.

“Uhm, are you drunk?”

“I’m trying to apologise right now and you’re making fun of it?” he groaned and threw an arm over his eyes, regretting the start of this conversation completely.

“I’m just saying you don’t even make any sense.” she interrupted his self-pity trip. “Jack used you, you didn’t know some freak turned him into an AI. Besides, you tried to tell us. If it’s someone’s fault, it’s ours. Aaaand that the deal’s been a fake is, duh, our fault as well. Unless the money’s been fake as well, which I doubt.” She crossed her legs underneath her, leaning the face into the open palms, looking down at him. He was still keeping his eyes shut, either already asleep - like the ass he was - or just embarrassed. “And you had every reason not to trust me. We tried to kill you, which was totally legit, by the way, _but_ it was me, thinking you made your choice… even though you didn’t.” Thinking back, she knew how he must have felt, realising there was no one on the ship to save him - except Loader Bot, and Fiona was very thankful that he managed to get him out. After that, they never saw each other again, but Fiona knew. She knew about the new CEO of Atlas, restoring their developments and projects. “But… I appreciate it, really. I’m… glad LB brought us together again.”

There was silence once again, until a faint but very familiar sound reached Fiona’s ears, turning her face to become red of anger. Rhys was snoring into the chill air and only stopped when Fiona drew her hand back, turned it into a fist and let it land with a loud _thud_ against his hip. His whole body jerked away and the squeal coming from his lips even forced her to twitch. “S-stop! I-i was joking!” he defended himself, lifting his arms in front of his body, just to earn another hit anyway.

“Don’t do that! I was just-”

“Opening up and then rudely got interrupted? Yeah, know that feel.” He slowly let his guard down just so stick his tongue out, making her smile against her current composure. Rhys sat up and rubbed the spot of her hits. He’d have been impressed, if he didn’t know how sensitive to pain he actually was. “I’m glad, too.” he suddenly whispered, smiling at her cheerfully. It meant a lot to him to hear those words from her. They held a grudge against the other for so long, never knowing the truth behind their accusations. “Am I the only one who kinda feels let down by the Vault?”

“Oh my god, no. I was expecting… something as well. I’ll totes ask Athena what we missed.” she claimed, glad about the sudden change of subject.

“Maybe it’s whole purpose was just… to send us… here.” he shrugged, not sensing a reason why a legendary Vault would do such thing - if it even had the power to decide.

“Because _here_ is such a nice place to be.” Fiona joked, leaning back and supporting herself with her hands against the roof. Rhys hummed approvingly, though he meant it seriously. Giving her a weird admiring look while she wasn’t looking. “What would you like to have found? I mean inside the Vault.”

“I… actually... don’t know.” she confessed, shifting in her position. The night broke through the clouds, the cold breeze hitting the two unintentional traveler. Fiona noticed how normal it suddenly felt. Sitting there, enjoying the night. They weren’t in any danger and their ride was on the way. They had nothing to worry about so far and that was a rare situation. As far as Fiona could remember, they always were in some kind of trouble or on a mission, but never relaxed during a quiet moment. Always having the near-death threats in mind. “I guess I just… wanted to be surprised or something. I mean, a cool new weapon would have been awesome. But other than that… Walking up the stairs had already been amazing. The whole atmosphere, the air… everything felt so surreal.”

“Yeah,... it really did.” Rhys’ voice became thinner, more quiet than ever before. Fiona noticed that he was drifting of into his mind, probably thinking back to the moment they’d entered the Vault. Relishing the moment of success over again. “What did you you wish for?” she pulled him out of his thoughts. He sat up, stretching his limbs. His weird silence was suspicious and rather unsettling. It wasn’t his style to remain silent, he usually enjoyed listening to himself, but the later it became the more withdrawn he got. “I…” he tried, failing deeply. A faint smile roamed over his features, and yet he seemed uneasy. As if whatever was floating in his mind, could possibly worry the other. “I don’t know either.” he suddenly breathed, averting his eyes once more. Fiona was sensing something off about his words, suspecting he was holding something back. The worst thing about this realisation was, that he never ever lied to her before. “What’s wrong?” she tried to coax the truth out of him, not in the slightest insecure of what might come out of his mouth.

He wasn’t too pleased with her inquisitiveness, but figured he couldn’t back off now. Not with the perfect opportunity of a starry night and her, looking perfect within the light of Elpis. With a heavy inhale he sat up and rubbed a sore spot on his neck. Rhys knew there was no turning back now and if he was completely honest, he didn’t want to. He wanted to get it out if his system, to tell her what he’d thought and concluded when they stepped into the Vault. “I didn’t expect anything from the Vault perse.” he started, carefully balancing the words he tried to form. He knew if he’d just spit them out they’d stumble and leave her confused. “I… thought about what will happen next and our little conversation gave me some clearing. I know what I wanna achieve and so do you, too.” His eyes were fixed on his fidgeting fingers, tracing the sharp edges of his cybernetic palm. Even Fiona’s were dropping down to his insecure fumbling, listening to his approaching confession observantly. “It kinda… felt right to go in there, y’know. Climbing up the success. W-with… y-you.” Keeping quiet for a second made her drift off with her thoughts, sensing the sudden tension. “I dunno what I was thinking, b-but… I hoped to… I mean I hoped you… I-I just thought we might…” He stopped mid-sentence and groaned into his palms pressing into his heated face. At this point, Fiona stared into his face, eyes widening with every additional word. “I wished for more time for... y-you a-a-and... me. R-remember when I told you about _someone else?_ ” Fiona didn’t answer, squinting her eyes at him attentively. “I-i - uh - meant you.”  Bamboozled, Fiona couldn’t take her eyes of the stuttering mess that embodied Rhys. He reluctantly peeled his hands of his face, to take a look at his companion, just to see if he already destroyed everything that was left of their friendship or if she was crying out of laughter.

“So... “ he coughed, acutely aware of the weird suspense surrounding them - and once again, it’s been his fault. What was he thinking? A woman like Fiona didn’t need a clumsy, ex-vice Janitor of Hyperion on her side. Awkwardly he started to laugh a little, rubbing the spot on his neck till it was red, like the rest of his face. She remained silent, forcing Rhys to regret anything he ever said to her.

“You’ve got terrible timing.” was her first sentence, after what felt like months for Rhys.

“W-what?” he stuttered, daring to look her in the eyes. She didn’t seem angry, that was a relieve, but nonetheless… different. There was a mischievously glare in her features and if he recalled correctly, she’d never looked at him like this before.

“I just made up my mind of being a Vault Hunter, you’re going to be the boss of Atlas and you _think_ this is the _right_ time to friggin’ tell me you fell for me?!” Of all things Rhys was expecting, her being mad about timing was the least. He didn’t know how to react to these accusations and instead of responding in some way, he just continued to laugh pathetically. “I thought I could shove my _shitty_ feelings for _you_ down and maybe _forget_ them after a time!” Slowly he encrypt the unexpected words of hers, widening his eyes in shock. “W-wait, you mean i-it’s m-mutu-”

His sentence never finished due to the soft lips on his own. She rather violently grabbed his vest and janked him forward against her. It wasn’t the most comfortable position, but it was enough to make a point. Rhys’ hands hung mid-air at her sides, not daring to touch her; as if scared she might wake up from some kind of hypnotism, his eyes were widen in shock, his body stiff as if it’s been the most disgusting thing ever happen to him. Fiona’s confidence fell apart, she hurriedly backed away and face grimace in terror.  Did she misunderstood him? Did she just ridicule herself in front of _him?_

Before she managed to make excuses for why she just did that and blame him for the whole situation, she noticed how he shuffled closer to her, reaching out for her face and cupped her cheek. This time, neither the kiss nor their limbs were angled weirdly. Carefully, and with a huge amount of sudden confidence she never knew he’d have, he brushed with his lips over hers until they parted enough to initiate a slow kiss. Fiona didn’t know if she should be impressed by his skillful movements, or questioning everything she thought to know about him. Their breathing became uneven the longer their lips searched for each other, her hands were by now grasping the collar of his black shirt, tugging at it, preventing him from retreating even though he did not act like as if he wanted to leave her at all and ever again. Unconsciously, Fiona languidly moved backwards, laying down onto the cold metal of the facility roof. Up here, they felt safe and sound, out of reach for uninvited guests. Rhys followed her movements glady, resting a hand leisurely on her hip, while his cybernetic hand gave him support. She moved her hands upwards his neck; tangling one into his hair, whereas the other ran over his back, feeling the fabric of his - probably super expensive - jacket underneath her fingertips. Her legs moved to his sides, pressing against his hips, guided by the bliss. It felt relieving to finally give in to her feelings. The first time she suspected to fancy him had been right before heading up to Helios. He had this absurd plan and silly attitude, but acted so proud of himself. Presumably, it all started way before shit went down, but that’s been the first time she scolded herself for thinking a little _too_ inappropriate. As a result of his usual awkwardness no matter what happened, she hadn’t been able to even sense an interest in her coming from him. If anything, she always thought he’d thrown heart eyes at her sister. Never had she ever been glad to have been so wrong. The Vault Hunter couldn’t prevent the moans and sighs coming from between her plump lips, whenever their kiss broke for a few seconds.

The Company man kissed every centimeter of her lips several times, trying to memorise the taste; the feeling, every reaction coming from her. He wanted to treasure the moment in case of never doing this ever again. Instinctively, he pressed his body downwards against her, aligning himself to her shape, noticing how well they matched. He couldn’t deny how thrilling this unforeseen change of events was and it made him shiver now and then, though the cold air did their part as well. Kissing her continually felt marvelous and he couldn’t really remember the last time he had this much love searing through his system. She was beautiful, especially with those extremely pink cheeks, her chest heaving and sinking unevenly and yet she was pulling him even closer, no matter how hard it was to breath between kisses. He never would have expected to be here and doing that with her when he entered the Vault. In fact, he never would have thought she felt the same way. They almost would have never spoken again and lost something, before they even found it. His human hand traveled warily further down her curvy hip, squeezing it tightly in the process. He took the chance during a short respite, only to kiss her along her jawline. Savouring the moment, Fiona closed her eyes firmly, noticing the soft sighs continuously bubbling out of her throat. Rhys teased the sounds out of her as if it was the easiest thing to do, and maybe Fiona would’ve complaint to keep her posture if it weren’t just _so good._ The brunette man never went any further, not even tried to get rid of some of the thousand layers of clothes she was currently wearing, keeping her almost unbearably hot. _He was too sweet to be true._

The night was short, but worthwhile.

____

“Oh. My. God.” a shrill female voice gasped. Her voice burned the idea of a long and good sleep, bringing the pair to open their eyes right into the blazing sun of Pandora. Fiona shifted painfully in the little space she could call her own. Rhys rubbed his eyes with the back of his human hand, realizing the warm body against his own. Instantly he could feel his ears getting hot and his heart speed increasing. They both stared at each other for quite some time, till the loud throat-clearing of Sasha brought them back to reality.

“W-what is?!” they heard Vaughn yell. His voice echoing within the almost empty hall of Dahl’s industry. “What did ya found?!”

The dark skinned younger sister propped her hands into her hips, tipping it a little to the left side, eyes squinting down at the others.

Faster than healthy, they sprang to their feet and brushed of the dirt from their clothes. Fiona grabbed her hat she apparently lost without noticing and pushed it firmly against her head, while Rhys tried to safe what was left of his hairstyle. “We- uh -I mean… ahaha.” Rhys tried to explain, stuttering nonstop, averting his gaze from both women, feeling caught. For once, it wasn’t just Rhys who was left speechless. Even Fiona didn’t know how to explain the whole situation. She was gesturing wildly - first at herself, then at Rhys and for some reason at the sky as well.

“Fi” Sasha tried to interrupt the baffling gabble of the unique pair. “Hey- Guys- Stop!”

They went quiet immediately, staring at the ground like some kids caught stealing chocolate. Sasha figured whatever they’d done, it’s been just as tempting as the metaphor. “I really don’t wanna know what you guys did,” she lied. “but I’m glad we’ve found you. Vaughn was sure that you guys were eaten by some Skags. Glad you got through the night. Must have been… cold.” She winked at them knowingly, smiling. She turned around and jumped down the hole she somehow managed to get through. Vaughn waited downstairs and reluctantly flicked some coins into Sasha’s hands, who grabbed the money mid-air and let it vanish into her pockets. They moved to the car quietly, mostly because Vaughn was talking incessant. He told them how dangerous their ride had been, how many people they’ve seen, how Sasha had to work on the electric wires of the car at some point… It was a never ending list of unfortunate events - or something like that. Neither Rhys nor Fiona really listened to any of his rambling, way to occupied with _accidentally_ brushing their hand over the back of the other while walking close to each other. They both felt the weight disappearing from their shoulders, none of them acted like nothing happened. Actually, they didn’t even try to keep their affection hidden from the others. Sasha knew it anyway and Vaughn… well, he’d probably realise what was happening once he saw them kissing right in front of them. Rhys imagined him being either absolutely surprised and eager to know more, or he’d act like as if he knew it all along.

“I’ll take the passenger seat!” declared Fiona, out of a sudden dashing forward, away from the others towards the vehicle. Sasha mirrored her act and ran to the driver seat, leaving both guys behind. Vaughn sighed sorrowful, even though he didn’t even want to drive. Rhys on the other hand only rolled his eyes, keeping the slow pace, smiling to himself.

____

Time passed quickly, leading them towards the night once again. They almost reached the crumbled Helios station, resurrected to serve another purpose. To give people shelter. It never felt like home to Rhys, when he still had been eager to reach the top. It’s been a workplace almost his whole life and Rhys always wanted to please everyone working there. In the end, it all had been for nothing, hadn’t it? If Vasquez wouldn’t have “promoted” him to a Janitor and instead gave him the job he always wanted, where would he be now? Would he have been happy? The answer laid within the shadows of a future he’d never reach. Sincerely, he didn’t even want to know. Because he was happy now, with a diverse family that met under weird conditions. They’d been a team when hell broke loose and they parted under unfairly terms, and came back together afresh. The only difference now, was the way he was allowed to look at Fiona. He always had to restrain himself from staring at her too much, giving away the crush he had on her. Henceforth, he could keep his eyes on her without worrying she’d take it the wrong way. However that didn’t stop her from doing some witty remarks. Most certainly, Rhys was able to call himself happy with the current circumstances. He _owned_ a whole company, had awesome friends he could call family, _lots of money_ and the most important thing; Fiona. No way he’d ever go back to the start. He wouldn’t rewind time, no matter how tempting.

It took him a lot of persuasion to convince his team to travel to Old Haven. It wasn’t really their favourite place to be, but Rhys promised “something cool”. From afar it seemed like nothing changed since the last time they visited. Vaughn wasn’t so thrilled either when he spotted the old Atlas facility, claiming that he felt numb all over again. Coming closer on the other hand, changed their minds quickly. The town was completely freed from any trash, while from the inside the building came sounds of… progress. People were working there and that was all thanks to Rhys. Stepping inside blew the discomfort away. There were no trace of dead bodies or the blood from the massacre that had happened once. It was clean and lively. Tons of workplaces were draped over the space. Where once had been a broken window and an unfortunate battle, there was now a great hall of machinery. Lots of people were looking for work after Jack had took everything from them, they were keen to help rebuilding peace one by one. So far all they did was reorganisation and restoration of the whole facility, replacing parts they did not need. Spring guns, the whole Gortys section and everything happen to belong to Jack slowly disappeared. Vaughn couldn’t resist but dive right into the technical apartment, impressed. Sasha inquired about weapons and squealed in delight when Rhys revealed that they retrieved some before tearing the most down. “Come with me” he hummed proudly towards Fiona, after their companions enjoyed themself with a few old weapons and advanced technology. “I gotta show you something.” Rhys lead her past the work, over to an intact lift, which brought them up to the highest floor. Nothing really seemed to have changed up here, Fiona suspected, due to the lack of tools and destruction. “Go in!” he smiled at her, waving towards the heavy metal door at the end of the cold hallway. The noise of the labouring going on downstairs was muffled by the facility construction, leaving them perfectly separated from the others. Fiona felt kinda guilty for not telling them that they withdrew, but it was alluring as well - sneaking away with Rhys, once again alone. A quite rare occasion. Without much thought to it, she opened the door and stepped inside, her breath hitching in shock when the light changed abruptly.

“It’s coming from the projectors. Remember the one in the great dome when we pushed Gortys together?” he explained, visible proud of himself. Distracted by the orange light of the map flashing into the air, creating a fascinating atmosphere, Fiona didn’t even notice the furniture within the room, causing her to almost stumble over a stool in front of black desk. In time she turned around to face Rhys again, who then moved around her to get to _his_ desk and press a button to close the projection. For a second the room went dark, until the light sprang on, forcing the brunette to blink violently.

“Guess you finally got your own office, eh?” she whistled, raising an eyebrow to look at him mildly impressed. As if to demonstrate the truth behind her words, Rhys swung himself into the black chair, swinging blameworthy to his careless movements. Immediately he rested his legs on the empty desk. “Kinda, yes.” he added to his show.

“So, you really mean it?” Fiona stepped towards the black desk, pinning her eyes onto the smug looking Rhys. He indeed looked happy, the whole company _thing_ suited him perfectly. It was like they said, he was born for this. The Ex-Con artist couldn’t pretend she wasn’t admiring the sophisticated looking man, in an almost fancy office. He was slowly returning to a life she used to despise - _again._ “To lead Atlas into glory and wealth? Or even Pandora?” she partly snided, gesturing with her hands, before crossing them underneath her chest.

Confusion appeared on Rhys features. His boots landed on the ground again and he was leaning forward onto his desk, clasping his hands together. “Don’t be silly.” he scoffed. “I won’t ever be able to save Pandora, not me nor the people close after me. But there’s always space for trying. And I’m not saying that inna weird… y’know” He waved with his hand. “Shooting-bandits-is-the-cure kinda way. I told you what I wanna… get going with this company. And if it won’t work out, so be it. I still got a Vault Hunter friend and I’m pretty sure my application can’t be dismissed. After all, I indeed stepped into a Vault and survived.” He smiled at her, aware of the worry frowning her forehead.

“You’d be a terrible Vault Hunter.” she mumbled, squinting at him, involuntarily smiling upon spotting how he was acting as if having a heart attack. “Ouch” he sighed. “You really know how to boost someone’s confidence.”

“Good, then I did everything right.” She turned to him, hip tilted to the side, giving her the self-assured posture she always enjoyed to transmit. Drifting off with her glance for a second, she flinched inwardly when her hand was pulled into a firm grip. He had rotated on his chair to the side, looking up at her, with her hand in his. Her eyes were fixed on his again, expectantly. But there wasn’t really much to his act. All he wanted was to touch her once again. Gently he drew her closer, giving the back of her hand a little peck, sighing afterwards. “Don’t worry about me, ‘kay?” he whispered against her skin, smiling upwards. “I won’t turn into a maniac and try to kill you, just because you’ll be away for a few.”

“Who said I’m worried?” she mocked, blinking away, embarrassed by the way too cute behaviour of his. Rhys knew she liked it, probably not handled caringly that often. He didn’t dare to imagine how harsh her past years had been, while he was living a live at the most expensive spaceship there was. “You are, I know that look.” She disdained the fact that he was right. “If there’s someone to be worried, it’s me. You’re going to face those monsters again, well… at least you want. But you can always count on me, alright? Nobody’d notice when I’m off for a few… weeks, or something. Could always ask Vaughn to help me out, he?”

“You suck.” she murmured, unexpectedly stepped even closer, freeing her hand out of his grip and shoved them into the hair at the sides of his head, pushing lightly but enough to bring him to lean his head back. He was watching her attentively, artlessly curious to what she was trying to do. Before he managed to think of a comeback, Fiona leaned down and connected her lips with his once again. Having unleashed the inhibition the night before made it way easier for her to do whatever went through her mind. _And there was a lot going on._ Rhys appeared fairly overwhelmed by her candidness; so much, he weren’t able to do anything for several seconds, except returning the kiss relishing. She tasted just like he remembered and she was just as demanding. He shuffled in his seat, reminding himself of doing something. Anything to get her closer, even if just a little. Vigorously, he seized her hips, pulling at them with sufficient force to convince her that his lap was the best place to currently be. His heart was thundering against his ribcage, there was no way Fiona didn’t notice, especially with one hand at his chest, while the other crawled to his neck. Their kissing grew sloppier with time, yet it stayed slow and deep. Rhys ventured to slip with his hands to her backside, using his right arm to keep her steady on top of him, whereas his human one determined groped her curvy bottom, unintentionally pressing her hips down, making him shiver with anticipation. It was impossible to keep the moan from escaping his fast moving chest. Fiona felt a tingling sensation within her body whenever he groaned into the kiss, growing inpatient with every passing minute.

Fiona took the first step and ended the kiss begrudgingly, just to fumble choppily with the buckle of her red corsage. Rhys on the other hand felt no need to rush. Besides, rushing meant it’d be over sooner, but he wanted to prolong as long as he could. He might was awkward at times and seemed to not know what he was doing, but this _wasn’t_ one of those times He knew exactly what Fiona was aiming for and he couldn’t pretend to gave it more thought to sort out what kind of deal they both silently agreed to. She wanted him _now_ and like before, the feeling was mutual. Soothingly he rubbed over her thighs that were straddling him in the way too big seat. With his eyes fixed on the body slowly unraveling in front of him, he moved one hand to the desk on his side, mindlessly searching for the dashboard, dimming the light to create the best conditions ever.

If her mind wouldn’t already fantasize about what they were gonna do, she might have rolled her eyes playfully at the change of the light. But _heck_ , if she looked just as good as he did within the soft orange gleam, she’d have probably thanked him for it. The corsage fell clattering to the ground, leaving her chest almost exposed to the blushing man in front of her. Even though she was still wearing a white high blouse and her beloved jacket, she felt the shivers running down her spines. Especially when he reached up to her to pull her down just to lock their mouths again. With some deftly fingers he sneakily worked on the buttons of her blouse, while she did the same with his black vest, trying to not get into his way with her own hands. She noticed that she was shaking, impossible to label the reason why. She weren’t unsure about this, in fact she was glad to finally get this tension and curiosity out of her system. Their breathing became uneven, harder to catch breath between kisses and their moans already echoed through the empty office. To think about Rhys, working here in the future and always thinking back to this exact moment, was freeing a sweet chuckle from between kisses, her excitement rising furthermore. Coldness reached her chest when the fabric left their usual location, quickly replaced by greedy hands memorising the curves of her waist and breasts. Instinctively her hips jerked down, lureing sweet moans out of Rhys, turning his face even redder and blissful. At last Fiona opened his shirt as well, uncovering his chest. For the first time she could see his tattoo almost completely, realising that it went even farther up his shoulder and probably left arm. The blue colour was even and well shaped. She didn’t ask about the origin of such an elaborate tattoo, albeit the question was sitting right on the tip of her tongue. She slid her hands over his surprisingly broad and well defined chest, aware of the invitingly trail of hair underneath his belly button. With a forceful grip of her waist, he pushed her a few inches away, as if trying to cool down their bodies, all hot and bothered. For a second Fiona thought he was going to shove her down his lap, until she felt his hands underneath her thighs, yanking her upwards while he stood up at the same time. A surprised shriek escaped her and she inevitably clung to him, only relaxing again when put down onto the desk. Actually surprised by the unexpected deed, she eyed him, impressed. His comment, though, was aimed at her shriek. “Cute.” he chuckled.

“Shut up.” she muttered, grabbing his neck, asphyxiating any possible further remark from him. Her possessive hand roamed over his body, touching the faint outlines of something that could become some decent abs. The Hunter closed her green eyes in delight the moment Rhys’ lips were wandering over her jaw to her neck, over to the collarbones and back again. Undoubtedly, she felt the outlines of his hard on whenever he rolled his hips against her intuitively, causing her to mimic his moans and sighs.

Only when he gasped in surprise, Rhys was acutely aware of the hand in his pants, gripping his painfully stuck arousal. A relieved sigh scurried over her hot neck, once she shoved his pants down, as well as his briefs, leaving him bared. He might have commented insecurely to the whole _business_ going on, because this was _really happening_ and Fiona didn’t suppressed her enjoyment and thirst. Smiling, she coaxed little sighs out of him, shamelessly flicking her hand over his imposing length, feeling it twitch within her grip. Turning his sighs to hot moans against her delicate skin. Rhys captured her lips once more, breathlessly kissing her with tinted cheeks. He fumbled nervously with the clasps of her boots, trying to get them open to shove them down. Fiona let him try for several minutes, until she pitied him enough to do it herself. They laughed silently through the preparation of getting rid of her pants as well, way more difficult than freeing him. She had to stand up for a second, letting Rhys push down the trousers. To fasten the process, Fiona wiggled with her hips, kicking the fabric off her leg once they landed on the ground.

“Would you mind if... I, uhm…” He squinted down at her for a second, brushing with his hands over her waist to her hip, fidgeting with the seam of her panties. She nodded softly, running her palms over his shoulders, crossing them behind his neck. He couldn’t really move well, since his pants were hanging mid-air around his knees, but he managed to shove her back against the black desk, heaving her up and placing her onto the same spot anew. Softly brushing with his lips over her temple, idly hooking his fingers over the edge of the cloth. Removing the bit of fabric painfully slow. Fiona rolled her body against him, clinging onto him as if she might fall into the depth otherwise, making it easier to lastly remove her underwear. With her resting on the table, Rhys took the chance to catch a good look of her, before her slim legs snaked around his hips to pull him closer. Rhys lost count of the times they had kissed till this moment, already owning a pattern, knowing when she’d turn her head, giving him the silent order to move as well to deepen the kiss furthermore. Rubbing with both of his hands over her thighs, he cautiously moved his human fingers towards the welcoming heat between her legs, running his thumb over the wet entrance. The Vault Hunter shivered harsh, gasping between breaks. The reaction induced a hum of approval by Rhys, noticing the lack of actual sex, but their consciousness seemed to prefer kissing, while their bodies became hotter and hotter, especially when aligned to the other. They would have stayed like that for eternity, if they’d been alone, but no gun or computer would keep Vaughn or Sasha busy for too long and even if they didn’t mind them knowing about _them_ as a _pair,_ neither one of them wanted to get caught. Still, it took a lot of courage for Rhys to press the tip of his painfully hard arousal against her invitingly heat. This was really happening and he didn’t know _why_ exactly he was hesitating. She hadn’t given him any sign of dislike - not even close - and yet he felt suddenly unsure. Fiona noticed.

“What are you waiting for?” she huffed, wiggling her hip as good as she could. “A written invitation?” Even though she was mocking him like she always did, she couldn’t keep the smile from appearing on her lips. Soothingly, she ran a hand over the back of his head, fiddling with his brown hair. She expected it to be stickier, since he seemed to use a lot of gel, but to her surprise it wasn’t. The cold metal of his robotic arm touched her heated skin, caressing her arm.

His words were almost barely hearable, if Fiona hadn’t been his close to him. “Are you sure about this?” he’d asked, worry curving his forehead. She groaned impatient.

“Did I ever tell you, that you’ve got some pretty messed up timing?” She rolled with her eyes, tilting the head to the right side. Something was troubling him and Fiona, no matter how annoyed she was from waiting, she thought to grasp the reason for his concern. They’d hated each other a few days ago, then became friends afresh, just to lastly turn into lovers? It was confusing, to say at least, but whatever was connecting them, Fiona shoved the confrontation far away, not wanting to deal with it _now._ “I want this, alright?” she confessed openly, causing him to look into her green eyes, falling for them all over again. “I- uh- I want you, Rhys. So, would you kindly-?” She gave him a little squeeze with her legs around his waist, coercing him to step forward as good as he could. Her words made him smile sweetly at her, ducking into another kiss, into he whispered:

“I want you, too.” Awfully slow, he entered her, exchanging hot breaths, while her body tensed up, toes curling and breath hitching. Involuntarily he broke the kiss, resting his forehead against her shoulder, concentrating on the feeling of filling her up. She felt perfect around him, already twitching, trembling underneath his hands. They waited a few moments, getting a feeling for each other, before Rhys pulled back a few inches just to thrust back into her. Fiona’s previous careful grip into his hair got less wary, tearing at his strands whenever his hip reached hers. Sometimes they managed to keep their mouths onto each other but more often than wanted they had to break free to inhale deeply, feeling the ecstasy crawling up their chests and leaving a trail of want, lust and care. Rhys’ hands were on her thighs, keeping them in place, realizing how her strength left her with every passing minute. He kept his eyes on her, whereas her body arched backwards, moved by his relentless thrusting. The whole desk made a remarkable attention-catching creaking sound, almost worrying the woman on top, if her mind weren’t absent. At some point she couldn’t keep her posture upright, leaning back completely, shoulder blades touching the cold material of the desk. The lascivious sound of skin against skin resounded within her ears, turning her even more aroused than she already was. Fiona couldn’t remember the last time she was handled that well, if at all. Usually it always been a one-timer with no interest in repeating; just to blow off some steam. Now, on the other hand, it felt _so good_ and _correct_ . He cared about her, then and now. He almost had sacrificed his life, thinking they left him. They always fought; had personalised insults for each other and every occasion. She let a man with a weird taste in socks and jokes _fuck_ her on his soon to become desk. If that wasn’t- ... _affection_ , she didn’t know what was driving her. It wasn’t over yet and she already looked forward to the next intimate time together.

She didn’t notice when he leaned down, until his wet lips were brushing over her chest, his cybernetic arm snaking around her waist she invitingly arched upwards. No matter how hard she tried, Fiona couldn’t hold back the tickling sensation within her abdomen. She clung onto him once more, driving her fingernails a little too hard into his back, forcing a deep groan out of him. Her whole body trembled when she came around him, quivering underneath his warm body, her insides twitching - giving away the unwanted ending. She’d moaned his name loudly, eliciting an irregular thrust from him. It didn’t take Rhys too long to follow her lead, nuzzling into her neck during some erratic jerks of his hip. Rhys’ left hand searched for her right, intertwining them, gripping them tightly. Sloppily, he pushed his body against her with slow and less forceful thrusts, ending their spectacle. Fiona winced, a little sore by the sudden aftermath sensitivity, still feeling rather delighted. Their orgasm ringing in their ears, mind slowly swirling down from the high. Neither one of them said anything, relishing the moment, listening to their uneven breaths.

Out of nowhere, Rhys started to chuckle lightheartedly. Confused, Fiona pierced his eyes, rising an eyebrow. “What’s up?”

“Nothin’” he grinned, nuzzling into her cheek, kissing her lightly. “I’m just happy.”

“You’re stupid.” she scoffed. She’d never loudly admit how cute his behaviour actually was, favouring to mildly insult him. That was her way of showing affection towards him since the day they’d met. Most definitely, Rhys was enjoying those exchanges as well, always ready to think of a comeback. They were a union, now even more than before and Fiona didn’t mind how everything changed at all. Parting after their passionate welcome, felt wrong and oddly weird. Not weird in a _ugh, we just had sex_ way _,_ more like _ugh, I don’t wanna go back_. All of it felt close to a short goodbye. They’d return to their new lives, rebuilding themself, dipping into a new adventure of their own. Even though they managed to go on without each other the past months, to diverge soon again hurt just thinking about it. Since they still couldn’t let go of the moment, it took them several minutes to dress up again, not wanting to leave this room. Repressing the responsibility of returning to their companions, they both helped the other to look less suspicious. Fiona fumbled with his hair, while he fidgeted with the buttons of her white shirt going up to her neck. Last but not least, he grabbed the hat, which at some point had fallen to the ground, forgotten and lost. Rhys pulled her close, pushing the hat onto her head, kissing her in between. He didn’t want to leave this room either. For once everything seemed perfect; wholesome. This was too good to be true and pretty much everything he wanted, just a little different to when he first thought about what he wanted to achieve in life. Never would he ever fulfilled his dreams up on Helios, but here on Pandora - over a year after landing on its surface - everything changed for the better.

Sighing, Fiona swung her hands around his neck, still looking rather worn out - Rhys liked it. “I really don’t wanna go back” she confessed, wincing suddenly. “but I really need to take a shower.” The words and the wink, caused Rhys to turn beet red again, feeling somewhat guilty and super awkward. There he was again, the clumsy Ex-Hyperion, self-assurance dropping like a meteor on Elpis.

____

A few hours later at the wreck of Helios, neither one of them acted like nothing had happened to them. They were holding hands openly, always standing close to one another. “Yuck” Sasha grimace, covering Vaughns eyes, who protested with waving arms. “There are kids on board.” Athena blinked several times at Rhys, as if trying to wake up from a pretty weird dream. She wasn’t really fond of the man, who once was part of Hyperion and now the CEO of Atlas, the organisation she swore to destroy. But _maybe_ she could look past her revenge for now, especially since he didn’t really had anything to do with her _faux pas._ Besides, all she wanted to know had to do with the Vault, that disappeared the second they went inside.

“Nothing?” she repeated Fiona’s words, sitting upright in her way too small Hyperion chair. One of the last probably. “You tell me, we friggin’ killed that beast for _nothing?_ ”

From the back came a dull and echoing coughing sound, even though Loader Bot had no physical reason to do so. Athena cleared her throat. “Sure, we did it for Gortys, _but_ still!”

“It’s like she said” Rhys repeated once again, leaning against the dashboard of one of the former Hyperion control centers. “we went inside, touched the suspiciously glowly treasure case thingy and _boom,_ we’re somewhere in the middle of Pandora’s desert.”

“Did you search the area?” The dark haired Hunter unyieldingly asked. Her lips were drawn to a thin line, eager to begin a rant, about how stupid they were. Rhys glanced to the side to Fiona, who returned the help searching look on his face. “I, uh, we… I mean we could’ve… maaaaybe, uhm…” Rhys tried to form a legit excuse, while Fiona ducked her head in case of yells coming from Athena. And indeed her dark eyes widened. Everyone in the room backed off a few steps, going absolutely quiet.

“You two are the absolute worst Vault Hunters ever!” she growled loudly, only retreating when she felt Janey’s hand on her shoulders, rubbing soothingly over her neck, settling her down slowly. “Calm down, Honey.” she shushed, her voice teeth rottingly sweet. Athena herself couldn’t resist her order. She indeed lashed out a little angrier than anticipated. With some deep inhales the Vault Hunter did as said, calming down as good as she could. “Maybe it’s still there” she exclaimed. “if we check the place where you guys landed, maybe we’ll still find something, if we’re lucky.” The last word came out as a hiss, almost enraging again. Athena wasn’t pleased by the whole situation. Patiently, she had waited for their return, to know what they’d found inside the Vault after they disappeared into thin air. Rhys was brave enough to speak again. “I’ll lead the way.” With a mechanical sound he opened his palm and a picture flashed into the air. It was a map like the last time, the only difference was, that he’d marked the place. Rhys only wanted to keep in mind where the old Dahl facility were headed, thinking his mark really came in handy now - quite literally, too.

“Bet you do” Athena snarled, muttering while heading out of Helios with Janey close behind her, talking her down quietly.

Reluctantly, the others followed the professional Hunter, knowing pretty well that she wouldn’t accept a no and frankly, the participants were interested in a new mission as well. Sasha rushed outside, pulling Vaughn with her, who tried to silently get away. But he stuck to them like everyone else.

“Can I come, too?” chirped Gortys, rushing towards Rhys, pulling at the hem of his pants. How could he say no to her? He nodded in agreement. The cheerful robot rapidly threw her tiny, mechanical arms into the air, driving towards Sasha and the others, suqeeling happy.

“Say about Atlas whatya want, but they created her.” Fiona realized, needlessly pointing towards Gortys, while walking next to Rhys. “Makes me think if there was one employee thinking” She propped her hands into her waist, exaggerating her movements. “This robot lady gotta be cute!” Rhys chuckled amused, shoving his hands into his pockets

“You guys are disgusting.” Sasha joked, waiting at one of the cars. Contrary to her words, she smiled at them, waving towards her. The other car was already full of people. This was going to be a new event. If they found anything at all. Fiona heaved herself onto the load area of the SUVs, turning around to presenting Rhys a hand. Even though it wasn’t really necessary, he gladly took the offer, letting himself be pulled up. “If you guys make out behind my back, I’ll throw you out, Rhys.”

Shocked, Rhys inhaled sharply, pressing a hand against his chest. “Why me?” he complained loudly. “Cuz she’s my sister, dumbass.” He couldn’t really compete against that argument and left it at that. Fiona grinned amused, sitting down safely, pulling Rhys down next to her, before he could try to make fun of her little sister. He’d have regretted it anyway, so she was doing him a favour. No one should ever provoke Sasha, not even family. They had the whole load area of the vehicle for themself, stretching out their legs to use as much space as they could. It wasn’t the most comfortable to lay on, but then again, they weren’t that picky. “If you drool on me again, I’ll cut you.” Fiona threatened half heartedly, resting her head against his chest.

“I really think I’m on the wrong car. I’m getting death threats from every side!”

“What did you expect?” Fiona clicked with her tongue. “We’re bad and uncivilised Pandorians.” She squinted up to him, craning her head somewhat unpleasant.

“I almost forgot.” He chuckled, moving an arm around her back, holding her against him securely. Daringly, with Sasha behind his back at the wheel, he moved his head towards Fiona, kissing her sweetly, while the engine rumbled underneath them.

No matter how different the members of their little group was, they were a family with their flaws and perfect sides. They could rely on each other. Time might tear them apart but the past showed that they’d always find a way back. So far, admittedly, it didn’t seem like their ways would part any time soon. Their adventure just beginning, with the other at their side, from now on and forever.

 

Even if the Vault didn’t contain anything valuable, they found the biggest treasure of them all:

 

_each other._


End file.
